Thermal and electrical performances of semi-transparent photovoltaic glazing integrated with translucent vacuum insulation panel and vacuum glazing

The development of smart windows for residential and commercial buildings is an attractive way to decrease energy consumption in this sector. These windows must provide low solar heat gain with a low overall heat transfer coefficient, avoid humidity and condensation in cold regions, generate clean electricity, and admit comfortable levels of daylight. Therefore, methods for integrating semi-transparent (or 50.8% transparent) CdTe solar cell strings-based glazing with structured-cored mesh translucent vacuum insulation panels and indium sealed vacuum glazing are described for modernizing smart windows. This paper contributes to the net zero-energy building concept, an aspect of a global industrial strategy for climate-change mitigation. This study reports experimental and theoretical studies on the thermal and electrical performances of six different glazing systems.